Friday, November 24, 2017

LAB 2

Welcome back to The Road2Wholeness Blog! Thank you for taking the stroll with us
today. This is the second blog in “LAB”
a series. Today we’re looking at how God
fastens our minds as we journey along.

In the last blog we ended at the point of returning to
God. But, what does that look like? For many people, a return to God is simply a
return to a handful of rules, but God is really trying to equip us for Destiny
and longevity. In this blog, I’ll like
to look most closely at Jacob’s life; whose twelve sons became The 12 Tribes of
Israel. But first, let’s look at his
twin brother Esau.

In Genesis 25:21-23 we learn that Rebekah, the mother of
Jacob and Esau, when she was pregnant, inquired of the Lord and was told that
inside her womb were two nations, and two peoples would be separated from
within. God also said one would be
stronger, and that the older would serve the younger.

Then in Genesis 25:29-33 Esau sells his natural birthright
as the eldest son to his younger brother for some bread and soup. The Bible says, “Esau despised his
birthright.” I first I felt bad. I thought to question God. I thought… that’s not fair. You see, Esau had just returned from out in
the open country and was famished (is the word the Bible used). He asked his younger brother for some of the
lentil stew, and Jacob seized the opportunity to take his brother’s
birthright. Jacob asked Esau to swear to
him that he would give him the birthright.
Esau answered, “Look, I am about to die… What good is the birthright to
me?” Later in Hebrew 12:16, the Apostle
Paul calls Esau godless. I thought… my
goodness, but he was hungry. Then it
came to me why godless. It wasn’t only
because he didn’t see the value of his birthright, but because, even faced with
death, he couldn’t perceive the value.
Therefore his remnant of God was proven to be absent. But, here’s what else I got. It shows that Esau had what I call “The Belly
Mindset”. It’s a right now mindset. It is sense and pleasure based. This is easily understood later on in
scripture, when Esau cries after he also loses the birthright prophecy his
father gives before dying.

Now let’s look at Jacob, the deceiver. Many say he stole the birthright, yet when we
recall God’s answer to Rebekah, we know that the older was meant to serve the
younger. Now, what all did God mean by
this, we don’t know. However, it is
clear throughout the Word that God’s will always prevails. In this story, it was tough for me to see
Jacob’s good until I could see God’s the steadiness of God’s Hand. In life this is always the case. When we are faced with difficult situations,
and we aren’t able to see God’s hand, we often refer to the belly mind. We refer to what we can see, hear, feel… etc. Without communication with God this sense
mind leaves us trying to take back what we assume is ours, bitter in life, or
even away from God. Now, let’s look at
Jacob’s story.

Later on in scripture, Jacob was given strict instructions
on what kind not to marry. So we know
that God had a specific plan in mind.
But, what about His steady hand?
It becomes clear when Jacob is then deceived by his own relative. He works seven years for the hand of one
daughter, and at the end he is given another.
He then agrees to work another seven years for the hand of the daughter
he always wanted. I bet after that first
seven years there was much disappointment, tears, questions, and perhaps anger,
but Jacob quickly regrouped and began his work to obtain what he wanted. This shows he had a healthy heart mind.

Many years later, after Jacob had already eleven children,
he decides he wants to return to his homeland, but his relative pleads for him
not to leave, because his home and affairs had been greatly blessed through his
fellowship with Jacob. Now, God is ready
to stretch out his hand, and perform miracles through His infinite wisdom. Now God makes certain that Jacob and all that
belongs to him, is his honestly, and when He blesses him, there would be no
question if God was with him.

Read the story in Genesis 30:29-43.

So Jacob brilliantly finds a way to separate for himself a
set of flock from what belonged to his relative. Eventually, Jacob is despised for all the
wealth he obtains. The sons of his
relative, begins to say, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and has
gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” Then God instructs him to leave.

What we see here was a willingness to trust God. And perhaps some of Jacob’s confidence had to
do with the birthright blessing he had been given, but don’t forget, we too
have a birthright blessing. And this
birthright blessing is being greatly subdued in our society, because of the
confidence it brings. When you repair
your relationship with God, and you are confident that God is for you, nothing
can stop you.

But, what I want to share with you more so today, is the
Fastening of the Mind process. Just
because Jacob had the blessing, it didn’t overrule the process of refinement or
purification of heart. We see that through
time, set-back, and miracles that God will fasten our minds to His heart and
will.

In 2 Samuel 6:6-7, a servant of the Lord and one of King
David’s men, was struck down after he tried to steady the “Ark of the Covenant
of God” which held the presence of God, because the oxen had stumbled. David himself couldn’t understand it. He felt it was harsh. He became angry with the Lord, but what God
was conveying was, “I will do the steadying”.
Therefore, in times of set-back, seek God, or simply stay in agreement
with God, because God will do the steadying.

The purifying of the heart and belly mind comes with
understanding. With understanding comes
peace. With peace comes fortitude, and
with fortitude comes longevity. Of the
Ten Commandments; “Thou shall have no other Gods before me” and “Thou shall not
make any idols for yourself” are those that pertain to the heart mind. As we move deeper into God’s will we will have
to lay down not only our own authority, but sometimes, we will also have to set
aside the good advice of others.
Likewise, when there is setback, don’t make an idol out of your
circumstance or even those who appear to be the cause. As we saw with Esau, he was already set to
serve his younger brother. Follow God’s
instructions and He will lead you into your Destiny.

In the case of the belly mind, most of the other
commandments are meant to discipline our gut desires. Until we can get control over the heart mind,
there’s almost no controlling the belly mind.
Belly desires that are out of control or in control, will lead to all
kinds of crimes against self, God, and Humanity.

As for the miracles, they’re all around us. God will perform many miracles to protect and
advance us, but mostly to show His own power.
When we forget that it is Him not us why we prosper, we begin to misuse
our favor. As we move through the Will
of God which is never ending, but particularly in difficult times within the
Will of God, we use the miracles to strengthen us, and to remember how good God
is. All of this is the Fastening of the
Mind, and a mind fastened on God is indestructible.

Therefore, as you return to God with great hope of becoming
whatever God has blessed you to become, remember Esau and Jacob; two peoples of
the same womb. Decide which pattern you
will choose, because that is the ultimate question the scripture intended to
ask.

Thanks for taking the stroll with The Road2Wholeness Blog.

Remember to go within that you may never go without. The God within you awaits you. Until our paths collide again, I wish you... Peace, Love, Life, and Complete Wholeness in Christ.